Page 18 of A Series of Rooms
Jonah turned it over in his hands, quiet and considering. “Actually,” he said, “can I take a shower again?”
“Oh!” Liam stood, his memory catching up with him. “That reminds me.” He crossed to the duffel bag he had tossed in the corner chair and rifled through it until he found what he was looking for. “I meant to offer earlier, but I—”got distracted by the bruises on your face“—forgot.”
He turned back and presented Jonah with a bundle of clothes: a pair of old, gray sweatpants and a maroon crew-neck sweatshirt.
“I noticed you got chilly last time,” he explained when Jonah met him with a carefully blank expression. “And no one should ever have to sleep in jeans.”
Jonah shuffled to the edge of the bed, bringing his feet down to touch the floor. He was looking at the pajama set like he was waiting for it to bite him.
“You brought those for me?”
A sudden trickle of heat crept up the back of Liam’s neck, filling in the tips of his ears. “Well, I—Yes. You don’t have to wear them if you don’t want to, I just thought. ..”
“Thank you.” Jonah stood and took the clothes from him.
“You’re welcome.”
Jonah studied him for a few moments longer, holding the clothes to his chest, then made his wayto the bathroom. Liam watched as he disappeared, clicking the door shut behind him.
He woke to the red glow of the alarm clock, glaring back at him with some ungodly hour. Liam rolled onto his side. It took a minute to get his bearings. He squinted into the darkness, narrowing in on the—shit.On the very empty bed across from him.
Liam propped up on his elbow, groping blindly at the nightstand for another note left in Jonah’s wake. It was past two in the morning; surely he hadn’t ventured out on his own at this hour, and if he had, Liam didn’t even want to think about the possible implications behind that or what he was doing or—
“Liam?”
His heart jolted a second time. He spun around to find Jonah perched in the oversized windowsill, the curtains pushed back to allow a spill of moonlight. Splayed open on his lap was what appeared to be the standard hotel copy of the Bible.
Relief deflated Liam’s chest. “Hi,” he said, his voice thick with sleep.
“Sorry. Is the light too much?” Jonah closed the book in his lap. “I can close the curtain.” He was already reaching for it when Liam raised a hand to stop him.
“No, no, leave it.” He yawned as he pushed himself up to sit against the headboard. “What are you doing up?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” he said, then hesitated, adding, “I didn’t want to risk waking you again. After last time.”
It took Liam a moment to connect the dots, and when he did, he hated the shame that he saw in Jonah’s reaction. It occurred to him that they hadn’t had a chance to talk about what happened.
“Do they happen often?” Liam asked. “The nightmares? Or whatever that was last time?”
“Often enough,” he said with a shrug, ever the man of few words.
Liam chewed his lip. “You should try to get some sleep,” he said. “It’s not a big deal if you end up waking me.”And it’s not your fault, he wanted to add.
Jonah shook his head. “I’m okay. I slept in late today, anyway.”
Briefly, Liam thought about trying to push the issue, since he was beginning to think Jonah didn’t get much sleep outside of this room, but it occurred to him that maybe the fear of waking Liam wasn’t the only thing keeping him up. Who was he to try and force Jonah back into whatever awaited him behind closed eyelids? He wouldn’t pry, but that didn’t mean he had to leave him alone to suffer, either.
Liam cleared his throat. “You know, I used to have really bad nightmares, too,” he said, drawing Jonah’s gaze back to him. “Mostly when I was younger. They’ve gotten a little better with time, but... Trust me, this isn’t my first midnight rodeo. And I don’t know about you—” he swung hisleg decisively over the bed “—but if we’re in this for the long haul, I’m going to need some caffeine.”
“‘We?’” Jonah echoed.
Liam flipped on the lamp and padded over to the cheap, plastic coffee maker on top of the dresser. “You want some?” he asked, tearing open the first packet of grounds with his teeth. He conveniently left out the detail that this was almost entirely for Jonah’s benefit, as Liam himself detested the taste.
When no answer came, Liam turned back and found him staring at Liam, as if he had offered him his kidney instead of a paper cup of what was sure to be the worst coffee he’s ever had.
“Um, sure,” Jonah said, blinking back to himself. “Thank you.”
“Cream and sugar?”
